Exciting news! For those of you living in the United States, all four seasons of Daktari are now available on Tubi, a free streaming service.
If you are unable to stream on your TV, you can watch it on your computer, tablet or phone by visiting Tubi.com and signing up for an account.
I’ve watched several episodes already and am focusing on Season 4 which I have not viewed since I was a kid. It’s actually not as bad as I remembered it. Erin Moran is sweet as Jenny and I really like the relationship she has with Dr. Tracy. I could do though without Ross Hagen – his character of Bart Jason is not likable. I miss Yale Summers! Fortunately I can watch older episodes to get my dose of him. 🙂
Let us know what episodes you are watching and enjoying. Remember to check out our excellent Episode Guide.
English fans of Daktari were lucky! In Great Britain there were annuals published with pictures and stories about Daktari. Our friend Ken has these annuals and he is sharing them with us.
Here are pictures from the first annual. Click on the picture to see an enlargement.
A fan of Daktari came upon this site and saw the German article on Cheryl Miller. A German speaker, this fan took the time to translate the article so we can all read it for the first time.
Thank you Lutz; that was such a generous thing to do and we are all grateful!
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FREIZEIT REVUE 11/2012: Celebrities at home – Cheryl Miller
Daktari’s Paula Moonstruck by Wild Animals to This Very Day
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FREIZEIT REVUE visited the former actress in her native Arizona (USA). She told us, how she lives today, and how dangerous the shootings were in those days. And what blows of fate she had to cope with afterwards.
Freizeit Revue March 2013, first page
[Caption, Big Picture]Daktari-Star Cheryl Miller loves animals — equally behind the camera. To the right [small inset]: She’s fond of this lama-foal.
[Caption, left Inset 1]In 1966, with the cross-eyed lion Clarence: “That was a really dear one.”
[Caption, left Inset 2]Fond of animals: Jack Dane (Yale Summers, left), Dr. Marsh Tracy (Marshall Thompson) and his daughter Paula (Cheryl Miller).
[Caption, left Inset 3]The “Daktari” Crew with Chimp Judy. “She constantly kissed me on the lips,” the former actress told us.
[Page 2]
Freizeit Revue article on Cheryl Miller, page 2
[Caption, inset top left]Tenderly she feeds a young giraffe. The animal is trustful right away.
[Caption, inset top right]Only occasionally Cheryl sits leisurely at home. She’s into sports, visits the opera, exhibitions, or the theater.
[Caption, small inset to the right]The former actress has got things straightened out with herself. “I’m doing fine,” she says.
[Caption bottom, left]The secret of her vivid complexion: “I wash my face with water and baby oil exclusively.”
[Caption bottom, right]Curious for life: “I want to learn something new constantly,” Cheryl says, laughing.
Main text
Tenderly Chimp-Lady Judy presses her a kiss on the mouth. Cheryl Miller laughs — without noticing the leopard, who is stalking her from the rear. He’s preying on the Chimpanzee, but suddenly changes target. Out of a sudden the wild animal pounces on Cheryl, presses her to the ground severely. It takes three men to intervene, pull the big cat away from her. Shocked the rescuers gaze at the victim, looking for injuries.
“I Fought a Crocodile”
“But I took a few bruises”, Cheryl remembers. “And wetted my pants out of fear.” It’s now fourty years since the shooting of Daktari took place. And nowadays “Paula” can laugh about it. To find out, how she’s doing today, FREIZEIT REVUE-reporter Simone Vollmer travelled to Cheryl’s home state of Arizona (USA). There the former actress told her about another thrilling Daktari-anecdote: “I had to fight a crocodile under water with a plastic-knife. Its jaws were tightly shut with a wire. It tumbled me over three times. That wasn’t funny.”
But Cheryl even today cherishes a heart for wild animals. Affectionate she feeds a giraffe. Astonishing-in her presence the majestic giant turns tame. Nothing new for Cheryl. “Clarence, the cross-eyed lion, liked me. Suprisingly nearly all big cats were comfortable in my presence. They put their head in my lap and clung to me.”
“My time with Daktari was wonderful”, Cheryl relates wistfully – completely to the contrary to what happened afterwards. “A soap-opera and some fair to middling flickers.” Eventually she gave up on acting. “I had earned enough money. I wanted to concentrate purely on my family. My children (son Eric (31), stepsons Ronn (45) and Robb (43)-editor’s note) shouldn’t get the feeling that their mother was something special.”
“The heart – my ideal man died”
Cheryl had no luck with love. In 1968 she got married for the first time. The marriage failed after only two months. The second marriage too, with a businessman, broke up after a few years. Only with Robert Kasselmann (died with 68) had fortune smiled on her. “He was my ideal man,” she fancies. “Our marriage lasted for twenty years. But seven years ago, he died of a rare heart disease.” Both didn’t believe in the chances of healing. “We handled his outlook realistically,” she confesses.
An experience that Cheryl helps today. She works with incurable children in a church community. “This can be rough but fulfilling at the same time.” On her own, but not lonely. That’s the way Cheryl lives today. She has many friends, who accompany her to the theater. And sports play a big role in her life. Cheryl even takes part in the senior citizen Olympics. “I can handle bows and arrows, I swim, I ski.” And at times she’s even attracted to wild animals again. “My memories of Daktari are as vivid then, as if it were only yesterday.”
Aren’t we lucky to live during this time of renewed interest in our favorite TV shows! Cheryl Miller, in particular, seems to be enjoying new popularity.
Our friend down under, Ken, found this wonderful video which features new pictures of Cheryl:
While looking at this video, I found a playlist of a whole bunch of Daktari videos:
So my brother-in-law who lives near LA sends me a text message with this picture:
He considered getting it for me but said the vinyl was in poor condition. <sigh!> This is one item I have wanted since I was a kid. Oh well. It’s a record store somewhere near LA if someone wants to find it. 🙂
Our friend Ken from Down Under sent these awesome vintage promos for Daktari. Do any of you remember these? I immediately recognized the episodes:
We are pleased to feature this guest post by one of our contributes, Ken Lynch:
A December 2015 posting on this website recently spotlighted the ‘forgotten’ co-stars of Daktari – Yale Summers and Hari Rhodes. I say ‘forgotten’ as most commentaries on this TV show concentrate on Marshall Thompson and Cheryl Miller.
I have previously tried to redress this situation in an April 2014 posting on the website which revealed some surprisingly outspoken and honest comments by Yale Summers on what he thought of his time in Daktari.
Recent research has also revealed some similarly themed comments by Hari Rhodes – proving once again that all was not as it seemed behind the scenes!
Hari Rhodes joins Daktari
Hari Rhode’s career prior to joining Daktari in 1966 is well documented in his biographical information on this website.
Interestingly, it would appear that Rhodes was not actually a part of the original cast of Daktari. It is highly likely that Don Marshall was first cast as Yale Summers’ fellow intern but was then replaced by Rhodes after just three episodes (see the Daktari Season One Episode Guide opening narrative for further details).
Despite his apparent late entry to the fold, Rhodes remained with the show for all of its four seasons. Summers, however, left the show after the third season.
Hari Rhode’s Relationship with his Co-stars
In over 70 episodes of Daktari, Hari Rhodes and Yale Summers worked side by side assisting Marshall Thompson’s character at the Wameru Study Center. To the viewer, their on-screen relationship was amiable and strong at all times.
But it was very surprising to find at least two newspaper reports commenting on the fact that their off-screen relationship was not so friendly!
An article in the 21 October 1967 edition of The Deseret News indicated that “a feud has reportedly broken out on the Daktari set. Co-stars Yale Summers and Hari Rhodes make biting remarks about each other all day.”
Then an article dated 27 March 1968 in The Milwaukee Journal went even further stating that “Hari Rhodes was not the unhappiest guy in town when his Daktari co-star Yale Summers decided to leave the show. It’s been easier for Yale to get along with the animals on the series than to get along with Hari these last seasons. But, at least to Yale’s credit, he hasn’t been telling outsiders about the feud.”
Rhodes’ apparently negative attitude towards his co-stars may not have been restricted to just Yale Summers.
When the 4 September 1969 edition of The Pittsburgh Press reported that Africa USA had been deluged by floods, it included a quote by Rhodes that “when that happened the whole cast lit up sparks to celebrate. You got psyched up about that place, driving up and back every day. I knew every tree, the fence. The whole cast hated that show, except for Marshall Thompson, who pranced around as the Daktari.” Rhodes reportedly used falsetto at the end of that statement!
Marshall Thompson, Hari Rhodes and Judy behind the scenes in “Little Miss Nightingale”
While it is disconcerting to read these accounts, it is probably understandable that the working relationship between the co-stars could have broken down under the pressure of the daily shooting schedules for this top rating TV show.
Hari Rhodes’ Relationship with Animals
Hari Rhodes was never as comfortable with animals as his co-stars Marshall Thompson, Cheryl Miller and (to a lesser extent) Yale Summers.
Never was this more evident than in the opening scenes of the first episode aired, “The Elephant Thieves”. Watch the (German-dubbed) YouTube clip at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejzhHhmM7is – particularly at the 3m30s mark – to see just how uncomfortable Rhodes was!
Despite this, it has to be admitted that he appeared more comfortable when animals were sedated or during fun sequences with escaping animals.
Mine are:
Season One: Return of the Killer (Parts One and Two–this is the episode that introduced me to Daktari), Wall of Flames (Parts One and Two)
Season Two: Return of Clarence, Cry for Help, House of Lions, Countdown for Paula, Terror in the Bush (#1 favorite), A Bullet for Hedley
http://www.tvobscurities.com/2010/05/daktari-episode-preview/
Daktari TV Show 